John Terry has admitted he has started to plan for life after football as injuries start to take their toll on his body.
John Terry has admitted he has started to plan for life after football as injuries start to take their toll on his body.
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The Chelsea captain, who turns 30 next month, faces an extended period on the sidelines due to a nagging nerve problem in his right leg that he has carried since the end of last season.
Terry missed the Blues' shock 3-0 home defeat to Sunderland last weekend after finally deciding he could no longer rely on pain-killing injections and search for a long-term cure to the problem.
And, after admitting it has been five years since he last played pain-free, the former England captain said he owed it to his young family to ensure his heath after football.
"The last time I played fit? Maybe five years, maybe more, I can't really remember," he told the Daily Mail.
"If you can take an anti-inflammatory and struggle through, you do.
"The pain from this injury is the worst I have had, there is no way I can continue.
"I'm 30 next month and I've got to start looking after myself."
Terry memorably said he did not care if he spent his retirement counting his medals in a wheelchair before the 2008 Champions League final - a statement he now views as foolish.
"It's funny, I was reading what I said about ending up in a wheelchair the other day and I thought to myself, 'You know mate, that's probably not your best plan'," he added.
"I'd rather play with my kids in the garden, thank you very much. I hope people will appreciate that.
"I'd like to rethink the wheelchair idea, please."
Terry also claims he was not angry with England boss Fabio Capello for stripping him of the captaincy earlier this year.
He did, however, admit to feeling aggrieved when he was overlooked for the armband when it was handed around during the friendly against Egypt - the first match after Capello's decision - at Wembley.
"I understood the decision at the time," he added.
"Fabio said he wanted to take the spotlight off me, although if I am honest I thought it had the reverse effect. But I would never dislike him for that."
He added: "I suppose the only time I felt disappointed was during the next game against Egypt, which was a friendly, and the armband got passed around between five or six players.
"I just felt, 'Okay, I've been stripped of the captaincy, but don't take the p*** out of me'."
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